SearchCap: The Day In Search, August 13, 2013

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web.

From Search Engine Land:

• AdWords Editor Update Brings Upgraded Sitelink Management And More
  Google released an update to AdWords Editor, version 10.2, that supports upgraded sitelink management and several other smaller feature updates. Apparently now dubbed upgraded sitelinks, these new sitelinks rolled out in June just prior to the enhanced campaign roll-out. They give advertisers the ability to include additional details for each sitelink. So far, they’ve been spotted […]
• Understanding Google’s Latest Assault On Unnatural Links
  Without much fanfare or publicity, Google quietly updated the Link Schemes/Unnatural Links document inside the Webmaster Tools section of their site last month. If not for the excellent work of Barry Schwartz, many of us would have missed it. (I have a page change tool app set up for that exact URL, and it didn’t catch […]
• Bing Testing Favicons In Search Result Snippets
  Bing is testing displaying favicons in the search results, next to the title of the search snippet. A reader, Joshua Hedlund, emailed us a screen shot of this test. Bing has confirmed this is not a browser extension modifying the search results, but rather one of Bing’s many tests to the search results user interface. […]
• Master The Management Of International SEO Services Vendors
  Today, I’d like to address an increasingly significant and treacherous topic for global marketers, a topic which I believe is insufficiently discussed — vendor management. The issues surrounding vendor management are principally related to cost, quality and control. First though, we need to put the situation into its wider context. No global agency vendor actually […]
• Google Scientist: We Want To Be Able To Respond To A Query Like “Book Me A Trip To Washington, DC”
  Will the day come that Google can successfully respond when you tell it something like, “Book me a trip to Washington, DC” — walking you through all the queries and answers needed to complete such a complex request? Will the day come when we’re using devices that only offer voice-based search? Will the day come […]
• Logo Optimization: A Local SEO Stealth Tactic
  When local businesses look to beef up their SEO game, they’re often looking for some clever technical trick. But, one of the simplest and most elegant local SEO tactics is to optimize the site’s logo. Since many businesses are unaware of it, employing it will amount to a “stealth” tactic, giving an advantage over competitors. […]
• SMX East Early Bird Rates Expire Next Week. Register Now & Save!
  Join the most accomplished search marketers in the world at SMX East, October 1-3 in NYC. Check out the agenda, featuring three days of tactic packed sessions, keynotes, the highest-level networking anywhere, and much more. Six in-depth workshops offered on September 30. Save with Early Bird rates before they expire August 24 – register now!

Recent Headlines From MarTech, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:

• Yelp Changes Course, Allows Review Writing From Mobile
• How Pay-Per-View Networks Cost Advertisers $180 Million A Year In Impression Fraud
• Study: 75% Of Smartphone Owners “Highly Likely” To Delete Emails They Can’t Read On Their Phone
• With Acquisition Facebook Now Speaks “Jibbigo”
• Tackling The Tablet — A Mainstay For Consumers, A Must-Do For Marketers

Search News From Around The Web:

Industry

• Security rewards at Google: Two MEEELLION Dollars Later, Chromium Blog

Local & Maps

• Fixing Apple Maps: It’s About Selling More iPhones (not local advertising), blog.kelseygroup.com
• Get a closer view of some of the world’s most extraordinary places, Google LatLong
• Google Maps Has An Incredible Doctor Who Easter Egg, jalopnik.com
• Microsoft Bing-bang-bungles local search, computerworld.com
• Plan Travel Faster and Easier With In-Map Hotel Booking, MapQuest Blog

Link Building

• Google didn’t kill the press release; it was already dead but PR’s not dying either, Branded3
• How to Carve Out Marketing Strategies by Mining Your Competitors’ Backlinks, Moz
• SEO Firm Offers Natural Link Building Services, Bill Hartzer

Searching

• How Google May Substitute Query Terms with Co-Occurrence, SEO By The Sea
• OK Google, Your Killer App For Glass Beckons: Can You Do It?, Forbes

SEO

• How Google Continues to Kill Organic Results, Graywolf’s SEO Blog
• How To SEO Market Your Business In 2013, Daily SEO Tip
• How to Survive in a World with No SEO Data, Luna Metrics
• How to Write the In-Depth Articles that Google Loves, Copyblogger
• Time for a New Definition of SEO, Search Engine Watch
• What Google Expects From Your Reconsideration Request, Search Engine Roundtable

SEM / Paid Search

• Upgraded extensions to help you reach the constantly connected consumer, Inside AdWords
• 9 Profitable Ways to Expand your PPC, PPC Associates Blog
• Bathroom retailer achieves 25% lower cost per click with Bing Ads, Bing Ads Blog
• Migrating AdWords Campaigns to Bing, PPC Chat Streamcap
• The 2013 State of Paid Search, PPC Hero

Search Marketing

• Are You Speaking Your Target Customers’ Language?, Marketing Words Copywriting Blog
• Clicks But No Conversions – Where You’re Going Wrong, koozai.com

Strategy

• Search, Share and Serendipity in Discovery Marketing, Covario
• Tips on Running a Successful Boutique SEO Company, willhanke.com